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October 3, 2016

do men have a clitoris

by – Kai, lead somatic sexologist

Anatomy has always been one of my favorite subjects. Particularly when it comes to genital anatomy and function. I recall hours spent at the University library trawling through anatomy textbooks just for fun! Medical science and biological anthropology still have much to discover about our bodies genitalia. Which gives rise to this article.

In my scholarly travels I have stumbled across some information that may alter the way we might think about the Penis, so thought I would share it with you. It’s been a long held belief that the ‘glans’ of the Penis is homologous to the ‘female clitoris’. That is, they are similar in structure and function – now I am talking about the knob/head/mushroom/acorn of the Penis here. Most men consider this an external pleasure hot spot. Where am I going with this? Well, what if the knob (glans) was not directly responsible for such pleasurable sensations externally? The study that’s behind this theory is not new. It just hasn’t been widely published or recognised in the manner that maybe it should be.

In this article I want to change the way we think about the Penis/genitals all together. Their is research that suggests the female clitoris, that is the cluster of erectile tissue is in fact a penis – see here. Both male and female tissues arise from the same embryonic structures. Which begs the question what is female and male genitalia? Should we use genitals to assign a persons gender (perhaps that a discussion for another blog article).

Getting on with it. Josephine Sevely from Harvard University investigated similarities in male and female genital anatomy. Josephine discovered physiological and anatomical evidence showing that the core of the Penis (corpora cavernosa) exhibits erogenous tissue embedded at the tip of the corona/coronal ridge. Covering this tip is the glans. Now you might be asking what has this got to do with anything? In her research Sevely suggests that the tissue is physiologically equivalent to the female clitoris and is responsible for the pleasurable sensations men experience. This changes everything. Why? Because the corpora cavernosa in men has widely been perceived as the tissue solely responsible for erection. There has never been much focus on pleasure. What’s even more interesting is the explanation and function postulated by Sevely in O’Haras work – “a major purpose of the glans is to apply a massaging-type pressure to the interior clitoral tip during thrusting”.

Since discovering Sevely’s study and Kristen O’Hara’s work on “sex as nature intended it”, I have started to think about the Penis in a completely new light. As a Penis owner myself, what does it mean to have a clitoral tip? Does this change anything? For me it does, and you too may feel the same way after reading this, or not! For me the Penis, is no longer as a three-cylinder (pump action) external tube, but as intricate and complicated as the female clitoris. Like most men I have always visualised the glans as fixed and hard when erect and all one structure. Now I think of the knob as a squishy mobile cushion wrapped around the tip of the sensitive clitoris.

image (top) corpora cavernosa- male clitoris with legs. The tip of the clitoris is protected by the glans penis (below) which consists of the corpus spongiosum, and urethra. The glans are soft and mobile enough to protect and provide stimulation to the tip of the corpora cavernosa. Image from fotosearch.com

For Penis owners, this information may be new and exploratory for you. You can feel the very-most tip of the corpora cavernosa by squeezing your glans. When you squeeze the glans you will feel a knobby tube. In the middle of these tubes it the soft spongy urethra (corpus spongiosum). The best way to feel the clitoris tip is to get an erection and squish the glans in a downwards motion with gentle pressure against a flat wall pulling torte. Observe the hard like rod structure pushing through the glans. You might even notice some new sensations that you haven’t experienced before by stimulating the tip of your man clitoris directly.

I went in search for visual evidence to support how the glans act to buffer and stimulate the tip of the corpora cavernosa (male clitoris). It took some time but I managed to find some evidence of glans bending and flexing as suggested by Seveley. These video clips below demonstrate her theory in action. Note video content NSFW.

This video demonstrates a function of the frenulum that I have not considered before. Interestingly enough, its role is to pull the glans torte in a downwards fashion butting it against the tip of the corpora cavernosa. You clearly see what happens in this video when the glans of the Penis pulls downward (ventral) onto the clitoral tip. Also observe the foreskin bunching up at the ridge of the glans and pushing against the dorsal aspect of the Penis.

In this video you can see how the man stimulates the ridge of the glans and inner mucosal lining of the foreskin having an effect on the underlying tip.

If you’re an owner of a Penis, or partner of one and want to experiment massaging the male clitoris this video here is great to learn from.